Vehicle Description
Just arrived�- AC Ace Prototype 1953
This incredibly historic motor car started life as a�two seater
roadster�built by John Tojeiro for Vincent Davison but was soon
acquired by AC cars and thereafter became the development prototype
for the AC Ace
In early 1953 John Tojeiro was asked to build a new sports car for
his friend Vincent 'Vin', Davis.�Of a similar�design to the
barchetta previously provided for Cliff Davis (LOY500) this example
had a tubular chassis and pleasing Italianate aluminium bodywork
built over a lightweight frame but unlike�the�earlier car�was
powered by a 2.5 Litre 4 cylinder Lea Francis engine obtained from
Connaught. The new car was finished in the summer of 1953,
registered LER371 and delivered to Davison, although no sooner had
he taken delivery than�Tojeiro asked him to�return the car so he
could�show it�to AC Cars at their Thames Ditton factory. So
impressed were AC that�a deal was quickly struck passing ownership
of LER371 to AC Cars in return for a royalty payable to Tojeiro and
suitable recompense for Davison, who joined the AC company as
development engineer soon afterwards�to help transform his car into
the smooth high speed sports tourer that the Ace would become.
Externally the transformation involved replacing the Turner
aluminium disc wheels with wires, installation of full trim and
weather equipment, fitting a proper windscreen, giving the car a
professional re-spray and re-registering it TPL792. Mechanically
the car received a 6 cylinder AC engine in place of the Lea-Francis
unit and a Moss gearbox, although the Morris Minor rack and pinion
steering originally fitted by Tojeiro was retained for the
prototype (later production cars would be fitted with the Bishop
Cam steering box). In this refined form the car was displayed at
the Earls Court Motor Show in October 1953 where the newly cream
with brown trimmed prototype was accompanied by a�brand new�rolling
chassis. Both were described either as the "AC 2-litre two-seater
Special Sports" or "Ace two-seater Sports" and had a basic price of
�915. The initial reception to the car was very favourable and this
positive impression was backed up by John Bolster's road test in
January of 1954. Just prior to this, in December 1953, the car had
also had its Rally debut by participating in the MCC Daily Express
Rally, where it was driven by Cliff Davis, who finished but did not
win any awards.
Following its use at AC cars, the car was briefly returned to its
original owner Davison who campaigned it�in 1954, including an
appearance at the 8 Clubs race meeting held on 29th May at
Silverstone, before passing it to Basil de Mattos. Mr de Mattos
raced it with some success through the remainder of the 54 season,
achieving two second places at Goodwood, and again during 1955. By
the later 1950s the car had passed to Robert �Bob' Jennings who
fitted a Bristol engine (which required minor modification to the
bonnet) and continued to campaign the car with appearances at
Brands Hatch (where he scored a 1st place in April 1957),
Silverstone, Oulton Park and Crystal Palace. Following Jenning's
period of ownership the car found its way to Roland Duce who in
turn sold it to Jonathan Bradburn who won a sprint at Curborough
with the car. Following two more owners the�Ace moved to the United
States in the 1980s by which time it had been fitted with a Ford
Zephyr engine and Ruddspeed Raymond Mays head. During�this
period�in the States�it was actively campaigned and received a full
professional restoration when�it was repainted white. The Simeone
Foundation invited the Prototype Ace to the�AC Retrospective
collection of cars in February 2017 to celebrate the AC
Cobra.�Recently acquired by JD Classics it is currently being
repatriated and will be offered in full race ready condition. With
a fantastic history and world class provenance it offers a unique
opportunity to acquire a truly historic sports racer that boasts a
fantastic competition history in its own right and is the ancestor
not only to the AC Ace but also the legendary AC Cobra.
Please contact us for further details.
�
Period Competition History
1953
December
Daily Express MCC Rally
�
1954
29th May
Silverstone Eight Clubs Meeting
Vin Davison
Car 56
2nd
�
7th June
Goodwood BARC
Basil de Mattos
Car 60
2nd
�
2nd August
Crystal Palace
Basil de Mattos
Car 32
6th
�
21st August
Goodwood BARC
Basil de Mattos
Car 96
2nd
�
19th September
Prescott
Basil de Mattos
Car 41
�
1955
24th September
Oulton Park International
Basil de Mattos
Car 23
3rd
�
1956
31st March
Brands Hatch
R D Jennings
Car 26
1st
�
22nd April
Brands Hatch
R D Jennings
Car 56
3rd
�
2nd June
Silverstone Eight Clubs Meeting
R D Jennings
Car 144
4th
�
6th July
Mallory Park BRSCC
R D Jennings
5th
�
27th July
Silverstone
R D Jennings
1st
�
5th August
Brands Hatch
R D Jennings
4th
�
18th August
Silverstone 6 hour relay
R D Jennings
�
26th December
Mallory Park
R D Jennings
4th
�
1957
1st April
Brands Hatch
R D Jennings
1st
�
6th April
Oulton Park British Empire Trophy
R D Jennings
Car 41
6th
�
1st June
Silverstone Eight Clubs Meeting
R D Jennings
�
9th June
Brands Hatch BRSCC
R D Jennings
Car 46
�
10th June
Crystal Palace Whit-Monday
R D Jennings
�
6th October
Brands Hatch Sporting Trophy Meeting
R D Jennings
